The Final Choice
by Ramzes
Summary: One day, Sirius comes back to his flat to find the protective wards removed, blood on the carpet and his family nowhere in sight. He has to choose whether to be James Potter's friend first, or his wife's husband and his son's father. SBOC
1. Chapter 1

The document uploading still doesn't work, but this chapter comes out thanks to **My name is Andromeda Black**, who shared her idea of exporting a chapter from an already existing story and copy-pasting the current text there and saving it instead. Thank you!

**Disclaimer: Well, you know me, don't you? I write whatever comes to my mind whenever I have the time. This current two-shot is no different. One thing stands the same, too: I am not J.K. Rowling, and I own none of her characters. If I did, I would have kept Sirius alive! **

_Thank you, saiyanwizardgurl, for this edited version of the chapter!_

Chapter 1

Sirius Firecalled early in the morning. Cane was still sleeping and Angela was enjoying a cup of tea in the living room when the flames in the fireplace suddenly rose and she saw her husband's face. "Hello, Angela."

"Hello," she breathed, almost fainting with relief. She had not heard from him since he had left for Russia three weeks earlier and had begun to worry. "How are you?"

Sirius had grown visibly thinner and he looked thoroughly exhausted but managed a smile. "I'm fine. How are the two of you? Is Cane fine?"

"He's sleeping, Sirius. Yes, he's fine."

"Good. I wanted to tell you that everything is fine with me, so don't worry."

"Where are you calling me from?"

"From the Headquarters. Dumbledore will be here any minute now. I'll report to him and then I'll drop by James and Lily's place. I'll be home soon."

Somehow, Angela managed not to show her disappointment – the last thing they needed was a quarrel through fireplaces. "All right, Sirius. Take care."

"You too. Tell Cane that I'll be there to take him to the park, just as I promised him when I left. You've been looking for him so long all by yourself, you need to rest."

"Okay."

The flames died out and Angela stood up – a little awkwardly because her pregnancy had finally begun to show up. Well, that was not a bad thing. Truth be told, she had been concerned about that – it was not natural for a fifth-month pregnancy to have so few signs and almost no weight gain. During her first pregnancy, she had gained so much weight that she had been unable to look in the mirror when undressed. The Muggle doctor that she used to visit had told her that this was not so uncommon but still, Angela worried. Now, with half a kilo added to her frame, she felt more composed. Maybe it was time to tell Sirius.

When he came back from the Potters' place, of course, which meant late in the night. She sighed and picked a book from the shelf, waiting for Cane to wake up.

Despite Sirius' promise to come and play with Cane, she knew that her husband would stay with James and Lily the whole day, so she decided not to postpone her own plans. She had a monthly arrangement she was not willing to miss.

"Mr. Nero!" Cane exclaimed happily and ran towards the old man who was waiting for them on a bench in Hyde Park.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" His old friend smiled down at him, and, being four, Cane did not notice the sudden aging and tiredness printed on his face. Angela, however, did not miss it.

"I had a birthday last month!" Cane announced. "I am four now." He grinned broadly, showing his perfect white teeth.

"Yes, I know."

"Why didn't you come?"

The old man looked at Angela for help. _Because your dad would have thrown me through the door. _"Because I had work to do."

Cane though about that and finally nodded. Work was something he could understand. "Daddy has work to do, too. He's always working. He goes on a missions and..."

"On missions, Cane," his mother corrected him.

"Yes, them. And his other work is keeping Harry and his mummy and daddy safe. He does not come home very often."

"Cane, that's enough!" Angela said firmly, feeling herself blush. She did not like the difficulties of her marriage being exposed by her son, not at all.

Their new companion did not notice, though. He only smiled at Cane. "I'm sorry I couldn't come," he apologized. "I've brought you a present."

Greedy as any child would be in his place, Cane's face lit up. "A present? What is it?"

Mr. Nero gave him a package. When Cane unwrapped it, he screamed with joy – there was a parchment and a self-drawing quill. Angela knew how it worked – the quill would draw on the parchment whatever Cane wanted and the way he wanted it, the way he saw it in his mind.

Her son went a few steps away to enjoy his newest acquisition and she turned to Mr. Nero. "You look tired."

He shrugged. "I have trouble sleeping."

"I see." She hesitated. "I'm sorry about Regulus' death."

He nodded. "It's hard, but you should accept things you cannot change. Tell me about yourself now. Do you have any new pictures for me?"

She shook her head. "No."

He shot her a penetrating glance. "So, Cane was right? Sirius is never home?"

Angela shrugged. "He's a busy man."

"He's a fool. No need to tell me, I can imagine what's going on. No need to look at me that way, I have ears. It's not a secret that the Potters are in hiding, and I can easily imagine Sirius trying to play the hero for them and not seeing that other people need him. Really, it still amazes me how anyone can be so smart and at the same time so stupid, but Sirius somehow manages to combine both qualities."

Angela laughed. "Too true."

Some of the other visitors turned to look at them, then at the child who was drawing happily near the bench, and then at Orion Black again. Angela laughed harder.

"What's going on?" Orion asked.

"Those people, they were watching us. Then when they look at Cane and you, they see that you two look a lot alike, you know. They looked at me so strange; I'm sure they think that I'm your mistress."

"And Cane is our son, I suppose?" Orion asked and smiled. "It's nice to know that some people think that an old man like me deserves a young and dazzling beauty like you. Do you want coffee?"

"Are you going to conjure it?" she asked suspiciously.

"No, I'm going to buy it from the booth there."

She was about to say yes when she remembered her condition. "No, thank you."

"All right, then I'll buy one for myself. Is something wrong?"

"Well...haven't you heard that a man who has suffered a heart attack should give up on coffee?"

"I might have heard it, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to actually apply it. Besides, it was never proven that life could last longer without coffee. All that we know is that it seems longer without our little luxuries."

Angela felt stupid. What right did she have to tell the man how to live? He was not her father; she didn't even know him that well because she met him only once a month. But one thing she was certain of was that he loved her child. It was evident and had been since the moment she had pointed her wand at him, demanding to know why he was following her, and he had answered, "I won't harm your baby, I just want to see him." During this first meeting, she had allowed him only to look from a short distance in the baby-carriage.

Besides, he looked so old and tired right now. "When was the last time you went to St. Mungo's?"

"Soon enough," he answered in a voice that she knew well; Sirius was used to talking this way when he wanted to say that the conversation was over. She shuddered internally, when she imagined the great row that would follow if Sirius knew that she took Cane regularly to meet his grandfather. _Well, that won't be so unusual. We quarrel all the time now...when he's home, of course._

Sirius was not home when they returned, not that Angela had really expected him to be. It was barely eleven o'clock and Sirius' visits at James and Lily's usually lasted for at least half a day. She made lunch and called Cane, but she had to fight him for his new parchment and quill because he was so enraptured by them that he did not want to stop drawing. She had expected him to be disappointed when he saw the two plates on the table, but he only nodded. "Daddy isn't coming, is he?" he asked.

Angela shook her head. "No, he's at work."

"He's with Harry and James and Lily," Cane said in a sad voice. "I heard you saying that to Mr. Nero," he explained when his mother looked at him.

"Well, yes, he is. He has to take care of them, you know."

He nodded again. "I understand."

_Well, I don't. Why are you doing this, Sirius? Can't you understand that we – Cane and I – need you too? Or maybe you understand and you don't care. Is that it? _

Of course, she knew that it was not true. Sirius loved them as much as they loved him, she had no doubts. But sometimes loving someone just was not enough. A marriage should be maintained with many other things and Sirius did not seem to realize that.

After lunch, Cane went back to his parchment and she cleared the table. She was just raising her wand to make them wash themselves when she felt a cold chill like a physical strike on her body. She knew what it meant: somebody was removing the wards around the flat and she knew for certain that it was not Sirius. She knew his way of acting with the wards and it was not him. Without thinking, she threw a Silencing Charm at Cane and shoved him into the wardrobe in her bedroom, telling him not to move whatever happened. Then, she conjured her Patronus – a large owl – and sent it through the window, desperately hoping that the newcomers did not have allies outside who could percept it.

The last wards gave up the same second she knelt in front of the fireplace, hoping to find someone – anyone – at Headquarters.

There were three of them, all hooded and dressed in black robes. Angela did not waste time looking at them more closely, she just pointed her wand at one of them and yelled _"Levicorpus!"_

The Death Eater merely shrugged and blocked the curse in an almost disregarding manner. "Come on, Ravenclaw, I thought you could do better than that."

"Well, Malfoy, I never thought _you_ could do better than _that_," she answered, looking pointedly at his mask. If she could keep him talking, that could gain them some time.

"Is your husband here?" another of the newcomers asked. She could not recognize his voice.

"You know that he isn't," she answered, trying to sound nonchalantly. "If he were, there would have been at least seven of you. I know that one to one doesn't suit you, even three to one doesn't."

Under his mask, she could swear that Malfoy wanted to answer but unfortunately, one of the others was smarter than that. "Don't say anything! Can't you see what she's trying to do? She's trying to gain time!"

Bellatrix Lestrange had always been a smart woman. Evil, yes, but smart.

"Where's the child, blood traitor?"

Angela's blood froze. _Cane._ If they found him...no, she did not dare to even imagine what would happen. "He isn't here," she answered, trying to sound steadily.

"Don't lie to me, stupid girl; it's useless. We know that he's here; the two of you entered the block together, so just tell us where he is. It'll be easier for you."

So, they had been under surveillance. Still, Angela did not intend to surrender without a fight. "You're a clever woman, Mrs. Lestrange," she said. "Maybe you've heard of this useful invention, a fireplace? I took Cane to Mr. and Mrs. Lupin's place through the fire and then came back here. I needed a rest."

_Please believe me, please believe me, please... _

"Well, the boy isn't that important, but look around for him anyway."

Bellatrix had obviously taken the lead.

It had been a few minutes since she had sent her Patronus to Headquarters and there were no sign of it being intercepted. Someone would certainly come. If another Death Eater didn't intercept it. If it got there in time. If there was someone at the Headquarters.

Until then, Angela and Cane were left to themselves.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ she yelled, pointing her wand at Malfoy, who stepped aside and the spelled missed him only by inches.

"_Sectumsempra!"_ Angela barely managed to dodge before the red light from Bellatrix' wand hit her; the curse flew over her head and splintered one of the bookshelves into tiny pieces. Angela had never heard of that spell, but seeing its effect on the unanimated object, she could say that it was highly effective.

"_Protego!"_ she shouted, trying to block the curse that Malfoy had sent in her direction and listening for a sound that could give her a clue whether the third Death Eater had found Cane or not. Bellatrix' next curse hit her in the head and a stream of blood gushed out on her right cheek. Ignoring the pain, she flicked her wand and the heavy bookcase fell between her and Malfoy, thus blocking his Imperius Curse. Angela used the moment to spit the blood out of her mouth before trying to Stun Bellatrix.

Trying.

"I can't believe you've ever gone to Hogwarts," Lestrange said lazily, evading the spell with well-practiced ease. "Where have you learned those poor tricks?"

Angela threw a Cutting Curse at her and Bellatrix yelled with anger, but no serious damage was done. Lestrange was the better dueler, no matter how Angela hated this fact. She sent a Blinding Curse in Malfoy's direction and hit him with it, but Lestrange simply muttered something, waved her wand and the curse sprang off. Angela had no time to wonder how it happened because a victorious cry from her bedroom told her exactly what she had been dreading to hear: the third Death Eater had found Cane. Bellatrix used the distraction to Disarmed her.

What happened next was the most awful experience in all her life. Cane was still under the effect of her Silencing Charm, so he could not scream or cry for help – his eyes just began rolling uncontrollably and his face contorted in agony.

"No!" she cried. Until now, she had never seen a person under the Cruciatus Curse; now, she was seeing it performed on her own child. "No, please, he's only a child!" Cane fell on the carpet and began wriggling and gasping for air, his mouth opened in a soundless scream. "Please, do it to me instead. Please!"

"If you are this willing," Malfoy, who had recovered from the short-lasting Blinding Curse, said. _"Crucio!"_

The pain was like nothing she had ever felt in her life. She thought she had reached the final stage of suffering during the two days that the childbirth had taken, but it was a pleasant caress compared to this. White spit in her stomach, red light in her eyes, a thousand knives in her limbs. Next to her, Cane was still wriggling on the ground. They would soon lose all their strength. Very soon, her little boy would die.

"Please," she begged again as she fell on the carpet. "Please, not Cane. Please, leave him alone." She started crawling toward Malfoy on her palms and knees, and he laughed.

"Not so proud now, aren't we, Miss Ravenclaw? Little Miss Know-It-All doesn't know it all after all, does she? I think I like seeing you like that."

"Please," she continued her pleas, and made another step towards him.

Looking at the little boy, Bellatrix sighed, "He's lost consciousness. Pity. My, my, what is my dear cousin going to say when he comes here and sees your bodies, huh?"

Angela wailed, made another step towards Malfoy, and then suddenly threw herself on the floor, rolled down and ran right into Malfoy's knees, snatching the tip of the wand that had been pointing at her merely moments ago. "Stupefy!" she yelled, desperately trying to stay in conscience, to concentrate, to beat them...it was Cane's only chance. And it worked! She did not even have time to kick Malfoy's now unconscious body before shooting a Tickling Charm on the other male Death Eater, thus making him unable to cast any spells from laughing. Of course, he could just hit her physically, but he seemed thick enough to not even think of fighting in another way. At least Angela hoped he was. However, she did not have the time to tie him up because she still had Lestrange to deal with – the most dangerous of them all. But she too had her weakness – she was so proud of her pureblood heritage that she would hardly think of another way of fighting except for a magic duel. Cane was still lying unconscious at her feet and she had her wand pointed at Angela's heart. "_Avada_ – "

Angela quickly stepped aside and while Bellatrix was still casting the curse, she threw herself at the Death Eater and got a hold of her hair. Bellatrix screamed in rage and tried to point her wand at her, but Angela's hand tightened around hers. With her other hand, Angela dealt a blow on Bellatrix' wrist and the natural instinct made the other woman to open her palm. Angela immediately snatched the wand out of it and threw it aside. "I learned this one from your cousin," she explained and twisted Bellatrix' wrist while trying to figure out a way to keep her immobile, so she could have the chance to step aside on a short and Stun her. Nothing came to her mind and anyway, it hardly mattered because three people suddenly appeared in the doorframe Angela loosened her grip only for a moment but it was enough for Bellatrix who shoved her hand away, grabbed her wand and Apparated away.

"When they removed the wards, they must have removed the Anti-Apparation spell, too," Angela muttered absently, kneeling next to her son, and frantically began checking for a pulse. There was one, thank Merlin. She now felt the pain she had been repressing during the fight – a pain in her head and limbs.

And in her stomach.

"Angela." Frank Longbottom knelt next to her, checking the child. "He'll be fine, Angela. You'll see."

"We should take him to St. Mungo's," she whispered in reply.

"We will. And you have to be examined, too. All will be fine. You'll see. Where is Sirius? Is he fine?"

"He isn't here," she answered. "And he is perfectly fine," she added bitterly before losing conscience.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

It was almost nine o'clock in the evening. Cane would probably have fallen asleep by now. Sirius had not planned to stay this long at James' place, but it was so nice to be there with James and Lily, and they hardly had any other visitors that he had not noticed how late it was until it was too late for the walk he had promised Cane, and then there was no reason to hurry his departure. Sirius silently vowed that he would redeem himself in Cane's eyes, and, ignoring the elevator, climbed the twelve flights of stairs that led to his flat, and started to remove the wards.

There were no wards. Frowning, Sirius entered the flat and called, "Angela?"

No one answered.

He entered the living room. The first thing he saw was the blasted bookshelf. When he looked around, he saw other pieces of furniture turned upside down; many of them had holes burned in them, and Sirius felt a sudden panic. "Angela?" he shouted. "Cane? Where are you?"

He hurried to Cane's room, shouting their names without answer. Everything in his son's room looked as usual. Cane's toys were scattered around and the beloved Snuffles looked at Sirius from the bed. Cane rarely went anywhere without this toy, so he had to be somewhere here, maybe in his parents' bedroom. Sirius opened the door leading to their room, only to find it empty. The door of the wardrobe was open.

"Angela! Where are you? Where is Cane?"

Again, nobody answered. Sirius now realized that he was the only person in the flat, and rushed into the living room again. No doubt, all the mess there could only mean one thing – there had been a fight. There was even blood on the carpet near the window. But if it had been the Death Eaters, why wasn't there a Dark Mark over the block? Sirius suddenly understood that if the attack had been an hour or two earlier, the Ministry officials would had had the time to remove the Mark...as well as the bodies.

He threw a Floo Powder in the fireplace and shouted, "Albus Dumbledore's study, Hogwarts!" Not even a minute later, the old Headmaster's concerned face appeared in front of him.

"Sirius, where are you?"

"What happened, Dumbledore? There's been a fight in here, there is blood on the floor and – "

"There was an attack this afternoon, Sirius."

That was just what he had expected to hear, but it still made his blood freeze. "Oh, Merlin! What...what..."

"They are both alive, Sirius. They are at St. Mungo's now, but – "

Without listening to Dumbledore, Sirius Apparated in front of the magical hospital. For a brief moment, he almost decided not to enter – he was too afraid what he might hear in there. Then, he braced himself with courage and stepped inside.

He was immediately directed to Healer Emerson's office. The Healer, a stocky built man in his mid-fifties, came a few minutes later and invited him inside. "You're Mr. Black, right?"

"Yes," Sirius answered, his heart beating faster. "My wife – "

"Yes, yes, I know the case," the Healer interrupted him. "The Cruciatus Curse."

"Merlin!" Sirius gasped with horror. "How are they?" he almost shouted.

"Mr. Black, calm down. They are under observation. The boy was lucky that they left him alone when he lost conscience. If they had continued with the torture..." He shrugged. "I don't know."

"He was lucky?" Sirius repeated. "That means that he's going to live, right?"

"Oh, yes, I can assure you that he'll make it. I cannot, however, guarantee that there aren't going to be any after-effects."

Sirius opened his mouth but did not say anything.

"We are doing everything we can," the Healer continued in a calm voice. "If you ask me, I'm sure that there will be no permanent effects."

It was good to hear that the Healer was sure, but it was not calming enough. Besides, "And what about Angela?"

"I think she'll be okay. If she was to die, she would have been dead by now. I've rarely seen a woman with such stamina." The Healer's blue, intelligent eyes did not leave Sirius' face. "I don't know about the baby, though."

The chill in Sirius' bones doubled in intensity. "The baby? What baby?"

The Healer looked surprised. "Didn't you know? Mr. Black, your wife is five months gone."

Whatever color remained on Sirius' face disappeared. "Are you sure?"

"Mr. Black, this is my job. Yes, I am sure."

"But that's impossible! Our son's birth was very difficult, and later she was told that she had almost no change to conceive again."

"Exactly, Mr. Black. _Almost_ no chance. She is pregnant now – still pregnant."

"Still? What do you mean, still?!"

The Healer said nothing. Sirius stood up. "I want to see them."

"I'm afraid that that is impossible, Mr. Black."

_What? Why is it impossible? Were they so badly injured that he thinks I won't bear to see them? Were they mutilated, or what? And who does he think he is, making decisions in my place?_ "I want to see them," he said angrily. "I insist."

The Healer hesitated. "The problem, Mr. Black," he said reluctantly, "is that Mrs. Black doesn't want to see you."

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

**Be nice and review this for me and for yourselves because reviews inspire me to write faster!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and the OCs.**

_Thanks to __**Jackline**__**werewitch**__**SOR4**__, and __**Tierfal**__ who reviewed the previous chapter. I really appreciate it._

Thanks to my beta, saiyanwizardgurl, for all her time and patience!

Chapter 2

He removed the wards, opened the door, and entered the flat, turning immediately back to build them again, then walked into the nursery, careful to make no noise. Cane was already asleep, as his father knew he would be. Sirius smiled and touched the child's forehead with his finger, causing Cane to mutter something in his sleep and turn on the other side. Sirius smiled again when he saw Snuffles pressed firmly in his son's arm. _Does he ever leave this toy out of his reach?_ Then, without any warning, Cane's eyes snapped opened and completely awake.

"Daddy!" he gasped.

"Hello, Champion," Sirius whispered.

"You didn't come," Cane said, and Sirius blinked. "You forgot."

_Well, it seems that I certainly did, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it is that I forgot_! Sirius saw the big tears forming in his son's eyes, and tried to comfort him. "Shh, I didn't forget, I just had work to do and I couldn't come. Don't cry, I promise I'll make it up to you. I promise. See, I can take you to the zoo tomorrow. We're going to see the elephant! You like the elephant, don't you? Shh, it's okay. We'll have a great time!"

"Promise?" Cane sniffed, clutching onto Snuffles.

"I promise. Come on, Cane, go to sleep. It's okay."

Soon, Cane fell back to sleep. Sirius tucked him in before creeping into the dark bedroom, taking his clothes off and laying down beside Angela, who, he realized only a moment later, was not asleep at all. She was lying with her eyes open and shining into the darkness, staring into the ceiling. _ Maybe she's been crying_, Sirius thought guiltily.

"Do you want us to leave?" Angela asked, her voice quiet and calm, and not sounding at all like she had been crying. "If you do, you can tell me. We can leave tomorrow. You've always been more than generous and never took a Knut out of my salary, so I'll have enough money to rent a decent flat. I can continue Mrs. Thompson's babysitting arrangements, it won't be a problem."

"What?" Sirius asked, shocked. She sounded like she had thought about it – really considered it a possibility. "Are you mad? Why I would want you to leave?"

"Because we aren't here, Sirius, not really. Or maybe it's you who isn't here. I can't continue like this. I can't let my child continue like this."

"Like what? For Merlin's sake, Angela, what are you talking about? If I had promised Cane that I would come home earlier and I didn't, I'm sorry! But they are worried, don't you understand? Voldemort is after them because of this bloody prophecy!"

She laughed mirthlessly. "So, that's where you've been. Why am I not surprised?" Then, her laughter suddenly died. "I can't take this for much longer, Sirius. I'm warning you, I can't take this for much longer..."

"Take what? What the hell are you talking about?"

For the first time this night, his wife turned to face him and her dark face seemed white in the darkness of the bedroom. "You really don't know, do you?"

"Know what? Say it, damn you!"

"What day is it today?"

"September 16th, why?"

"September 16th," she repeated and fell silent.

Suddenly, Sirius understood. It was Cane's birthday today! And he had forgotten! "Oh Merlin, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

She still had her back turned to him. "So am I, Sirius. So am I."

Sirius woke up at once, sweat pouring down his face. It took him several seconds to realize that it had all been a nightmare. A memory, yes, but still a dream. Cane's birthday, the one that he had missed, had been almost a month earlier and he had mended things – he had taken Cane and Angela to the zoo and for a week he had even come home earlier. That had seemed to make Angela reconsider her former intentions.

And they had not left him.

Not that he was sure they would not do it now – Angela, Cane, and the new baby. That though, of course, brought him back to the stunning news of the Healer.

"_Didn't you know? Mr. Black, your wife is five months gone."_

_No, Healer Emerson, I didn't know._ How could he know? They had thought it was impossible. It had seemed impossible – four years after Cane's birth, there had not been a single indication of a second pregnancy. They had become reconciled with it.

"Are you happy with me?" Angela had asked him one night, about a year ago.

"I'm happy with you, Angela."

"Are you sorry that I cannot have other children? Don't you want other children, Sirius?"

"No, Cane is quite a handful," he had answered, shuddering dramatically. "Imagine what it would be if there were two of him!"

He had not succeeded in fooling her, though. She had propped herself up on her elbow and had given him an intense look. "Don't lie to me, Sirius. I really want to know."

"It's fine this way, honey. I'll admit that I wouldn't mind having another child, but unfortunately that would mean another woman with me, so I certainly prefer it this way."

She had believed him then, but now, Sirius could not say what was going on in her head. Why hadn't she told him? Hadn't she known how happy he would be?

Sirius sighed and looked at the Muggle clock. It was barely five. He had more than enough time to go to St. Mungo's, so he made himself a cup of coffee, noticing for a first time all the tea packets and vitamins in the cupboard. _She's been taking care of the baby_, he realized, and that thought made his heart ache. Each morning of the five days Angela and Cane had spent in the hospital, Healer Emerson gave him the same answer: they could not tell yet whether the baby had been harmed by his mother's torture or not.

He went to Cane's room. He had not bothered to remove the clothes from the floor, or to end the incantation that made the quill on the table ceaselessly draw. The biscuit that Cane had obviously stolen from the kitchen – Angela would never let him bring food in the nursery – just before the attack, also contributed to the chaos. It was a room waiting for its owner to come back, and yet he had not. Sirius took the pillow from the bed and buried his face in it, then changed into Padfoot to catch the scent better. It smelled like laughter, stuffed dog, and children's shampoo. It smelled like Cane. The dog huffed – the doggish equivalent of a sigh, went to the kitchen, and then changed back to make himself another cup of coffee. While Sirius was taking a shower, it suddenly occurred to him that for the last few days he had spent more time in his flat than the six previous months. It was a pity that Angela and Cane were not there to appreciate it. Of course, if they had been there, then he probably wouldn't have been...

At eight o'clock, Sirius was already outside Emerson's office. The Healer was not there, but Sirius could not blame him – they were in the middle of a war that provided St. Mungo's with more than enough patients for all Healers. He waited until Emerson finally came and invited him inside. His face was very solemn and Sirius suddenly knew that he would not like the news. "Can I see them today?" he asked.

Emerson shook his head. "No, Mr. Black. As I told you before, my greatest responsibility is my patient's well-being. I have to respect her wishes and she told me that she did not want your presence in her room. I am sorry."

Sirius sighed. The man in front of him was not the one to blame. It was Angela who wanted to torment him. "How are they?"

"Better. Your son sleeps most of the time because the spells that attenuate the pain have that effect, but I think he'll make a complete recovery."

"That's good. And what about my wife?"

"She'll be fine, too," the Healer assured him. "There will be no permanent damage, I can say that for sure."

"Thank Merlin," Sirius whispered.

The Healer's dark face showed him that he had not finished. "Is it the baby?" he asked fearfully. "You can tell me what's going to happen to the baby, right?"

The Healer nodded. "For now, the baby is fine. We managed to get the situation under control."

"But?"

"But I cannot guarantee what will happen later. The Cruciatus Curse is something terrible for every living creature, and unborn children are very vulnerable. You see, when the Cruciatus hits a child, we can localize the damage and try to fix it – we did it with your son. When the baby is not born yet, we don't know what the harm is. But I am positive that there is some damage."

"What makes you so sure?" Sirius asked sharply.

"I've treated pregnant women after they were exposed to the curse. I've read about other cases."

Sirius bit his lip. "How many cases are there when there were no consequences?"

"Few."

"But how few? Twenty? Five? One? Not a single one?" The Healer's eyes gave him away. "That's it, isn't it? There was not a single case where the fetus was unharmed."

Emerson did not answer directly. "If your wife were a few weeks or even a few months gone, I would have recommended for her to abort. In this stage of her pregnancy, that is not possible."

Sirius looked at his feet and tried to summon all his courage to ask the next question. "What happened to them, the other women?"

The Healer offered him a glass of water, but Sirius did not even look at it. "Drink it, Mr. Black. You're going to need it, believe me."

"What I need is an answer."

Emerson's face was sympathetic. "I've had four such patients. Most women get frightened and abort if possible, but these four were either too far gone, or resolved to give life to their babies. One of them was two months gone when she was attacked. She suffered a miscarriage in the sixth month. Another one was four months gone and everything looked normal, but she gave birth to a stillborn." He fell silent.

"Yes?" Sirius pressed. He had to know, no matter how awful it could be.

"The baby girl of the third patient was born with her right arm missing."

_Merlin!_ Sirius did not say it aloud because he was trying to suppress the nausea that was gripping his stomach. _I'm not going to throw up._ In two minutes, he felt it would be safe to take a sip of the glass of water, and almost drained it. "What happened to the fourth child?" he whispered.

"He was born retarded. He died at the age of six."

_This is not happening_, Sirius told himself. He would probably wake up any minute and would tell Angela about the terrible nightmare. "And there is nothing we can do?"

Emerson shook his head. "No. Nothing we can do."

"Did you tell my wife all that?"

Another shake of the Healer's head. "No. Not all the details. But I told her about the prospects."

"Or rather, the lack thereof," Sirius corrected him and rose up, feeling a hundred years older. "Thank you for being honest."

"Sit down, Mr. Black. You've suffered a terrible shock. Don't you want a glass of Firewhiskey or something?"

"No, thank you. When can I take them home?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"Are you hungry?"

Neither Angela nor Cane looked hungry, but they both sat at the table and obediently ate the meal that Sirius had ordered from the Italian restaurant around the corner. Cane fell asleep during dessert, and Sirius carried him to bed and stayed there for a while, looking at his face.

During those six days in St. Mungo's, Cane had changed – he was thinner and more tired, with yellow skin and no sign of the vitality that Sirius had always associated with him. The veins beneath the skin of his hands were now visible, thin and blue. In his sleep, he clutched Snuffles and wrapped himself over the stuffed toy – his pose resembled that of a fetus. Sirius found it strange, since Cane was not a child who liked this pose. He also didn't like sleeping at all – his son was a boy who always wanted to run, draw or play, or hug someone. Resting was always on the bottom of Cane's list of priorities. Sirius kissed his forehead and returned to the kitchen.

Angela had cleared the table and was now sitting on the sofa with her feet lifted high and her eyes closed. She seemed to be asleep. Sirius looked at her white face and noticed the little wrinkles around her mouth. He suddenly realized that they were not from age. _They're from pain. _Her left hand was placed protectively on her still flat stomach. _Merlin, no wonder I didn't notice. Why is she so thin? _Her arms and legs were like sticks. With sudden guilt, Sirius remembered the night about four months earlier when she had been lying in bed with headache and nausea, the cause of which was unclear. He had told her to visit a Healer and he supposed she had done so because the next week he asked her if she felt better and she had replied that she was not ill. Now he knew what she had meant.

Angela sighed and opened her eyes. "Is he asleep?" she asked, and Sirius nodded. "Good. Sit down, please." He nervously obeyed, unsure of what to expect from her – she had refused to let him into her room at St. Mungo's, and now her tone was suddenly so civil. It could only mean one thing – trouble.

"How are you feeling?"

"As fine as I could be," she answered. "Healer Emerson told me that you know."

"That's right."

"Good, that will make this easier." She looked at him with a stern expression on her face. "I want to talk to you, Sirius."

"Okay.

"

"Six days ago, Cane and I suffered something terrible," she began. "Thank Merlin, he will recover and so will I, but the baby I am expecting most likely will has congenital problems. You know that." He nodded. "This is entirely my fault, of course."

_What?_ _Her fault?_ She had done everything to make sure that the baby was fine! "No, it's my fault. I should have been here. I'm sorry..."

"You have no cues at the moment, Sirius," she interrupted him. "This is a monologue. I'll try to be as short as possible. As I was saying, it is my fault because instead of taking measures, I waited for you to come to your senses and start paying attention to us. I waited for you to realize that James, Lily, and Harry might be your friends, but Cane and I were your family. Even when I saw you alienating yourself from us, I still thought that it was something temporary. Even when you forgot our son's birthday to be with James and Lily, I still thought it would pass. But it did not pass, and I did nothing. Do you want to know why? Because I was stupid. Because fighting for my husband's love with his best friend seemed so ridiculous. But James won, didn't he? He won without even knowing that there was a fight."

"Angela. I'm sorry about then, it'll never happen again, I swear to you – "

Her dark eyes bore into his and she nodded slowly. "You are right. It'll never happen again. Because I won't let it happen. I am tired, Sirius. I am so tired of waiting for you to finally decide to come home, I am tired of feeding Cane all sorts of excuses for your absences, and most of all, I am _sick_ of listening to you talking to me about how hard it is for James, Lily, and Harry. Yes, I know about the prophecy, but in case that you haven't noticed, right now, Harry is pretty fine while my child is in bed, drowsy from healing spells. He will wake up crying from his nightmares about the attack. My unborn child will have serious problems for his whole life. If I had done this earlier, I could have been in my own flat, instead of waiting for you and facing Death Eaters alone instead. So, Sirius, listen to me carefully, because I will not say it again: I won't continue living like this. You can either stay here, really stay, with me and our children, or go on like this, with James and Lily having all your care. In which case I will find a home of my own. That's it."

"You're leaving me?" Sirius could not believe his ears.

She shook her head and looked at her hand, which was still resting on her stomach. "You left us months ago. I just want things to be clear. Now, I want you to leave and not come back until you've made your choice. You can go to the nearest pub or to James' place – Merlin knows that it's been more of a home to you that our flat has been." She took a sip of her glass of water to moisten her cracked lips. "I do love you, Sirius, but when you come back, you will be either my husband or a beautiful memory. Oh, and open the door to the nursery when you leave; I want to hear Cane when he wakes up."

Sirius silently obeyed.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

**A. N. I know, I know, I promised it would be a two-shot, but this is how it came. I'll try to make the next chapter final, I will. And don't forget – the more reviews I get, the faster I write. I don't know why that is, but the fact is that it is so.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I'll soon own a washing-machine!**

_Thank you __**SOR 4**__**Lily Hermione Potter**__**werewitch**__**Tierfal**__, and __**Jackline**__ for leaving reviews for this story. You guys are the ones who inspired me to finish this story._

Thank you, saiyanwizardgurl, for editing this chapter!

Chapter 3

James opened the door and Sirius quickly slipped inside. James reinstalled the wards and looked at them critically before turning his attention to his best friend. "Well, it's good to finally hear from you. You haven't been answering my owls and messages for days."

"I know."

"Of course you do."

"Who are you talking to, James?" came Lily's voice from the kitchen, and in a few moments she appeared at the door of the living room with Harry in her arms. Seeing his godfather, the little boy squealed happily and began wriggling in his mother's arms.

"Pafoo! Pafoo!"

Sirius looked at the excited toddler and shook his head. "Not now, Harry."

"Pafoo!"

Lily left Harry on the floor and he immediately started walking towards Sirius' armchair. Sirius looked at him and suddenly, the memory of a conversation that had taken place more than seven months earlier came to him. What had Remus said?

"_For Merlin's sake, Sirius, leave Harry alone! You're his godfather, not his father. He has his own. Don't you understand what you put Angela trough with this Harry-obsession of yours?"_

"_This has nothing to do with Angela!"_

"_Do you really think so? Tell me, Sirius, do you think she feels happy with you paying no attention to her and Cane? You've focused all your care and attention on your godson, who has taken the place of the son she's unable to give you."_

_Sirius growled with anger. "How dare you!"_

_Remus did not flinch. "I do. Don't do this, Sirius! For Merlin's sake, leave Harry in his parents' care and instead give your time and devotion to your family while you still have one!"_

It was strange how clearly Sirius remembered this conversation. Not that Remus' words mattered, of course. The traitor just wanted to cause a quarrel between Sirius and Angela. _Besides, he was jealous because I am Harry's godfather and not him._ Still, Angela's words suddenly troubled him. _They might be your friends, but Cane and I are your family._

"Not now, Harry, I'm not in the mood," he warned the toddler, but the chubby little fingers caught his robe and tugged at it.

"I SAID NOT NOW!" Sirius suddenly shouted, and James and Lily gave him startled looks. _Harry just stood there, too surprised to react. I shouldn't have done that. It's not Harry's fault, so I shouldn't throw my anger at him._ He was just a child. James' child. _Yes, James' child_, Sirius thought again. _Not _my_ child. My little boy is probably having a nightmare right now. Angela said he woke up crying. If he cries, then what the hell is wrong with you crying too?_ He looked at Harry, whose tiny lips were trembling. "I'm sorry, Harry," he said as gently as he knew how. "It's not your fault, I'm just..."

Lily shot him a murderous glare and took Harry in her lap.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Sirius?" James burst out. "First, you avoid my owls, then you miss the day when we had to make the final preparation for the ceremony. Now you drop by here all of a sudden and the first thing you do is yell at Harry. What the hell is going on?"

"I'm sorry," Sirius said.

"Why didn't you come earlier?"

"I had to take care of some things of my own."

"Oh, really? And what the hell could be more important than the Secret Keeper Ceremony?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "I don't know," he said very softly and very sarcastically. "Maybe taking care of _my_ wife and son? What do you think? Is that important enough?"

"Don't start with me," James warned, "because I'm at the end of my nerves and patience."

"You're right, of course. I'm sorry. It's just, I really had to do a lot of things. I've been thinking most of the time."

For the first time since Sirius had arrived, James gave him a close look and remained horrified: his friend had become even thinner than he had been a week earlier. There were big dark circles under his sunken eyes, and his face wore traces of unbearable tension. His fingers shook slightly.

Lily must have noticed, too, because she left Harry on the sofa and brought Sirius a big sandwich that he did not even look at and a cup of coffee that he drained in two gulps.

"Merlin, Sirius, what happened?" James asked, his anger gone.

Sirius placed the empty mug on the table. "I can't do this, James. I can't be your Secret Keeper."

"What?!" James shouted.

"I can't do this," Sirius repeated.

"I thought we had settled everything!"

"Except for the little fact that I had other people to take care of. My fault."

"What?!" James repeated.

"I have a wife and a child, Prongs, and they come first. I'm only sorry that it took a Death Eaters' attack to make me come to my senses."

"Oh my God!" Lily whispered, and James' face took a horrified expression.

"When?"

"During my last visit here. Instead of defending Angela and Cane, I was chatting here with you," Sirius said bitterly.

"How are they?" Lily was almost too afraid to ask, but by the tone of Sirius' previous words, she could tell that he had not told them the worst.

"As fine as two people put under the Cruciatus could be," the young man replied.

"The Cruciatus?" James whispered. "Oh, Sirius..."

"Bella was one of the attackers. The other was Malfoy, but Angela managed to Disarm him and the other bastard, Rosier. Bella escaped, but Malfoy and Rosier were arrested." Sirius laughed darkly. "Frank told me that when the Aurors arrived, Malfoy was lying on the carpet, Stupefied, Rosier was laughing madly under the effect of a Tickling Charm, and Angela was trying to pull out Bellatrix's hair by the roots. Bella escaped, though. Oh, what a humiliation for the almighty Slytherins, to be beaten by a Ravenclaw, three against one." His laughter died. "Unfortunately, the damage was already done."

"What happened?" James insisted. "How are they?"

"They came back home yesterday. There won't be any permanent damages for either of them.

James grinned. "Lily, bring us champagne," he cried. "We have to toast this."

"No, Lily, don't, " Sirius stopped her. "There is nothing to toast."

James sighed; the constant hiding had got on his nerves and Sirius' reservations made him even more irritable. "Just spill it, Sirius! What else?"

"All right, I will. Angela is pregnant. Five months gone, to be precise."

James laughed. "But that...that is great!" He took Harry in his arms and excitedly placed a kiss on his chubby cheek, but then he met Sirius' gaze and his grin faded. "Isn't it?"

"No, James, it isn't."

"But why not? The two of you wanted a second child so much..."

_Yes, we did. And now our dream has become a reality. And it turned into a nightmare!_ Sirius looked at the Oriental rug on the floor. "That's true. Unfortunately, when the Cruciatus hits a pregnant woman, there are severe consequences." He fell silent again.

"Severe, how severe?" James insisted further, starting to worry just a little.

"Stillborns, retarded children, children with missing limbs, and so on," Sirius supplied. "There never was a single case of a pregnant woman giving birth to a healthy child after a Cruciatus."

Lily's face turned ashen. "And what is going to happen to your baby?"

"We won't know until it is born," Sirius answered. "If there is a birth at all," he added miserably. "The Healer, by the name of Emerson, told me that had Angela been not so far in on her time, he would have recommended an abortion, but now it's impossible."

"Not so far in on her time?" Lily repeated. "What on earth does that mean?"

"That I am a bastard for not noticing it, that's what it means," Sirius muttered.

"You haven't noticed? A fifth-month pregnancy and you haven't noticed?" There was disbelief in James' voice.

For some reason, that only made Sirius more frustrated. "And just when was I supposed to notice it, James? While sitting here and talking with you about Voldemort and Hogwarts and pranks and everything? While being on missions for the Order? _While I was staying here playing with your child when the Death Eaters were playing with mine_?"

"You yourself chose your behavior, Sirius," James growled in response. "I haven't tied you to this chair and this home by force, and I refuse to take responsibility for your actions."

"Don't, I'll do it myself," Sirius agreed. "As I said before, it's my fault and my fault alone. I was the one with the child and the pregnant wife, and I was the one who neglected them unforgivably, but not anymore."

"So you've rethought your decision to become our Secret Keeper?"

Sirius nodded. "It's not safe, James. If I do, I'll probably have to go into hiding myself. I can't put my pregnant wife and my traumatized child through all that. Going into hiding alone is unthinkable. Besides, it's not safe for you too. Do you really want to trust Lily and Harry's safety in the hands of a man who would betray them under some circumstances?"

Lily gaped and James' eyes widened. "What are you saying?" he asked in a dangerously low voice.

Sirius did not even flinch. "Look at the situation through my eyes, James. Cane already disappeared once, and only the last week there was an attack in my flat. If Voldemort's servants take hold of Cane or his mother and ask me where you are, I'll have no other option but tell them."

"You would – ?!" James' voice was full of disbelief.

"No, if it were only me. But I have other people to care for, Prongs. I think that for the last months, you, Lily, and I kept forgetting that. But the risk of losing them made me realize that being with Angela and Cane is where I need to be. They need me, and I need them, and soon there will be another child who will need both his parents more than anyone. It will be born with hard problems – congenital problems, actually. I can't fail them. Not again."

Lily nodded with understanding, but the expression on James' face did not change. Sirius sighed. "Tell me, Prongs, are you the only one who is entitled to worry about his family?"

"No," James answered wearily, "I'm not the only one." He shook his head and poured himself a cup of coffee, magically reheating it with his wand. "I suppose I was just too used to relying on your constant presence and devotion, but you're right. Angela and Cane should come first...and the new baby. I'm only worried about what we're going to do now. We wanted to perform the Fidelius Charm; it's the safest choice."

"You can still perform it," Sirius assured him. "Just not with me. I've thought of it."

"What do you mean?"

"Call Peter."

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

While Sirius was removing the wards, he was seized by the sudden fear that Angela and Cane would not be inside. He knew it was irrational and yet, he could not help but think of the last time he had come home, expecting to find them there, only to find the flat empty. As fast as he could, he finished removing the new wards, then entered the flat and reinstated them instantly.

He did not need his canine hearing to know what the splashing sounds coming from the bathroom meant. Sirius smiled, transformed, and started towards it, his soft padded feet making no noise as he walked. He pushed the door open with his snout.

Cane was sitting in the bathtub, allowing his mother wash him without protesting and without trying to drench her through her clothes. Padfoot frowned as best as he could as a dog. Cane loved being washed, he loved playing in the bathtub, and his current apathy only showed his father how bad things were. _The Death Eaters and me, we all did it,_ Sirius thought bitterly. _But I'll make up for that._

Cane's face lit up when he saw the big black dog looking at him with his head cocked to one side. "Snuffles!" he exclaimed happily. Suddenly, he did not look forlorn anymore. Instead, he looked full of life and joy. "Snuffles, come here!"

"Sirius, don't you dare – " Angela began in a menacing voice, but it was too late. The dog jumped into the bathtub, splashing water everywhere and mostly on Angela, who laughed despite herself. Padfoot then shook himself off, drenching her again, and Cane laughed. Padfoot put his gigantic paws on Cane's shoulders and began growling quietly in his face. Cane started growling too, and then the two of them began splashing and pawing in the water, sending bubbles all over the bathroom. Angela only sighed and shook her head. "Really, _Snuffles_, one would think that at least you could behave like a normal human being. If you go on like that, soon we'll find our hands full with a puppy and not a child."

"Yes!" Cane yelped. "I wanna be a puppy!"

Angela gave Sirius a look that was full of disgust. "See what I mean?"

A wagging tail and two front paws batting at the bubbles that were floating in the air showed her that Sirius knew and did not care about that. "Great. Now I have two children to bathe instead of one."

Despite her disapproving expression with a hidden amusement behind it, Sirius thought he could not mistake another thing that he had seen in her eyes the moment she saw him: relief. She had really thought that he could choose James, Lily, and Harry, that it was a real possibility. And that made Sirius realize another thing. He could not tell her about the change of the Secret Keeper, he could not tell her anything about the Potters at all. Not now, when she still felt so insecure about his feeling towards her and Cane. Maybe in a few weeks when he would have her convinced that she and Cane – and now the new baby – were the most important thing in his life. _Later_, he thought, and sent another bubble at Cane's laughing face. _I'll tell her later._

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

**A. N. So, here it is. Can you believe it is completed? Because I sure can't. I know that completed stories do not receive that many reviews because the writer does not need to be encouraged anymore, but I'd really like to know what you think of this fiction. Please, let me know.**


End file.
